Combat Skills
by sarabethloves
Summary: Riza has always been a renowned sniper, but very little people know that she is also talented in combat as well. She is finally able to showcase her skills when a cocky, up and coming sergeant who has been known to bully Fuery challenges anyone brave enough to a sparring match and Riza decides to accept. No one messes with Riza Hawkeye's friends and gets away with it...


**I had a headcanon about this months ago and finally decided to write a full-fledged oneshot about it. I've always loved the idea of Riza being secretly good at combat and showing everyone up in front of her team so here's a story about it! Hope you like it :) **

Riza Hawkeye was known for being many things. She was a first-class sniper and a firearms specialist. She was a loyal and hardworking officer. She was kind and devoted to everyone close to her. And, above all else, she was fiercely protective of her friends.

On this particular day, that fierceness was taken to a whole new level.

The department of the military wherein Riza worked had just gained a whole new batch of promising recruits. Some of the more hardworking soldiers were quickly promoted to fill the spots that had been left open in the aftermath of the Promised Day. One recruit in particular had quickly come to Riza's attention, and not for a good reason.

Sergeant Blaine Woodward was tall, admittedly handsome, and very athletic. He had a strong and commanding presence that led everyone to believe he was a future leader. He was similar in a lot of ways to a certain raven-haired colonel.

But, despite the similarities, Riza didn't care for Sergeant Woodward at all.

That was because, by putting himself on a pedestal (despite his young age and low rank), Sergeant Woodward had, in the process, put a lot of other people down. Put simply, Woodward was a bully to those he deemed a threat.

One of his more recent targets was Kain Fuery. He picked on the young sergeant who Riza had come to call a close friend constantly. Ever since Woodward had found out that a young man who now shared his rank was a vital part of the now infamous Team Mustang, he tried everything in his power to upstage Fuery. Apparently he couldn't stand the thought of a bright, young kid with minimal physical prowess being on a team that had become a prestigious and vital asset of the military.

So every chance he got, Woodward would degrade and put down the sergeant. It had been going on for quite some time and Riza had finally decided to do something about it.

Her opportunity to set Sergeant Woodward straight came when the boisterous young man called for a sparring match with anyone who thought they could challenge him. Woodward was a good fighter and, because of this, thought he was invincible.

A bit of a crowd had formed in one of the military gyms where Woodward was hosting his contest. It had drawn some high-profile spectators including one of the heroes of the Promised Day, Colonel Roy Mustang and his team.

Riza watched in disgust as contender after contender challenged Woodward and was promptly defeated. This kid was good, she would admit, but she could tell he had plenty of the weaknesses that come with the immaturity of his age.

When Woodward's eyes fell on Mustang and the rest of his crew, his face took on a sick smile and he smirked. He swaggered on over to the group, walking right up to Sergeant Fuery. Riza could guess where this was going. Her eyes narrowed accordingly.

"I don't suppose Sergeant Fuery would like to try a crack at me?" Woodward said with a laugh.

Fuery stood still and countered Woodward with a glare. Despite Woodward's constant efforts to but Fuery down, the young sergeant never let it get to him. He was a kind and mature person and Riza admired him for that. It still didn't make watching him get bullied any easier for her.

"No, probably not, huh? You wouldn't be able to land a hand on me with those sticks you call arms," Woodward said menacingly, once he noticed that his digs weren't doing any damage.

Riza decided to take a glance at the colonel to see what his reaction was. She knew that Woodward's immature bullying of one his men bothered Mustang just as much as it bothered Riza. And, sure enough, when Riza looked at him, she noticed that Roy was glaring and looked about ready to challenge Woodward himself.

But, being that he was a high-ranking officer about to be promoted to brigadier-general, he couldn't engage in something as trivial as a fistfight. Fortunately, Riza was more than willing to take his place.

"I'll do it," she said confidently, which in turn caused Woodward to swivel around to where she stood and gape. His shock didn't last long, though.

"You got to be kidding me, right? Look, I know you can handle a gun Lieutenant Hawkeye, but this is a man's fight. Your skills really don't match up."

Immediately, everyone in the room froze. They all knew that this hotshot kid had just said the very worst thing.

"You think so?" Riza countered coolly. She was unfazed by his taunts. She knew what she was capable of even if he didn't. "How about I show you what skills I have right now." Despite how angry she was, she stayed calm and collected.

Woodward laughed at her challenge. "With all due respect, Lieutenant, I don't think I can fight a girl. I wouldn't want to break your nail or something," he said with a cocky smirk before he turned and tried to get another challenger.

Riza wasn't finished, though. She was ready for a fight, even if he wasn't. She turned toward her commanding officer with a determined gaze. "Permission to fight Sergeant Woodward, sir?"

Roy looked at her strangely, which she figured was to be expected since even he wasn't aware of her entire skillset, but she assured him with her eyes, telling him silently that she was more than capable and that he should trust her.

"Permission granted," he eventually relented, wanting someone to bring this cocky brat down a level.

"Thank you, sir," Riza replied with a slight smirk of her own. She undid the buttons of her jacket and tossed it into Lieutenant Havoc's hands followed by her gun holsters and all three of the guns she kept on her person at all times. Now wasn't the time to use weapons. Now was the time to use sheer strength.

While Woodward had his back turned, busily trying to goad someone else into taking his challenge, Riza confidently walked up to the young officer, ready to show not only him, but everyone else in the room, what she was capable of.

"Sergeant," Riza called firmly to the young man, trying to get his attention. Woodward turned around curiously and eyed the lieutenant with a smirk on his face.

"Wait, you really want to fight me?" Woodward asked with a scoff. Apparently he didn't think Riza was serious. "You really want me to mess up that pretty face of yours?"

As if Riza didn't already have enough reasons to loath this man. Now she knew she had to beat his face in. She was more than just a pretty face, and everyone in the military, except this cocky sergeant, knew it.

"I dare you to try, sergeant," Riza retorted firmly, still trying her best not to let her anger seep through into her words.

Again, Woodward scoffed and shook his head. "Alright, fine. I'll try and go easy on you, okay, sweethear-," Woodward was cut off from his degrading comment by a swift blow to his gut, which sent him reeling. Before he could even register it, however, Riza delivered a sweeping kick that knocked Woodward flat off his feet, which gave the lieutenant the perfect opportunity to pin his arms back and completely immobilize him.

This entire sequence took less than a few seconds; a mark of a true expert, and it left everyone in the room absolutely gaping, including Roy Mustang and his team. They had never seen this side of the cool and collected sniper.

"Going easy is probably not the best idea," Riza said with a rare smirk of her own as she released Woodward's arms and got up off the floor, stepping back for round two.

Woodward was clearly taken aback, as he himself gaped at the lieutenant who had just been towering over him. It seemed he was finally starting to realize how much he underestimated the veteran lieutenant. His face contorted from anger, and he let out an indignant huff as he got up off the floor and readied himself to continue the fight.

"Well, I guess you're right about that, Lieutenant. I'm actually going to have to beat you, aren't I?"

"I'd like to see you try," Riza replied flatly as she smartly waited for Woodward to charge at her. When he inevitably did, she calmly blocked the incoming punch and countered with a swing of her own. Woodward kept countering Riza's attacks, but she was much too fast for anything to land. Her size allowed her to be able to easily dodge too. It was no wonder she had quickly become a combat expert back in her academy days. Only a few people really knew how skilled Riza Hawkeye actually was, and even then they didn't say anything about it. It would be too embarrassing to recount their loss.

While Woodward was preoccupied trying unsuccessfully to land a blow, Riza again used her size to her advantage to bring the cocky sergeant to the ground and pin him down yet again. "That's two," she told him before she again released him so he could try one more time to bring her down.

"Alright, that's it. I've had enough messing around. You're going down, lieutenant," Woodward said with a snarl. It was amusing watching the young sergeant's ego take blow after blow.

"One last chance," she told him before she again waited for him to charge. This time, Woodward was furious, more so than she had ever seen him be. She knew she would have to be careful. He was cocky and inexperienced, but he was still strong.

Despite Riza's quick victories the last two tries, she was having a difficult time finding an opening to bring him down. He had learned her strategy, at least somewhat, and was defending himself much better.

At one point, Riza thought she saw an opening, and went in to land a final blow, but it had been a trick, and Woodward was ready. While Riza's side was defenseless, Woodward did something that was forbidden in military sanctioned sparring matches, he landed a full on blow to the side of Riza's head, which sent her reeling back.

Everyone in the room collectively gasped. Not only had Woodward just punched a woman in the face, he had punched a higher-ranking officer who was very well known and respected in the military. Coincidentally, there were quite a few people in the room who were ready to give Woodward a taste of his own medicine, including the colonel and his team.

Colonel Mustang clenched his fist and fought every urge in his body not to walk out there and land a swift and decisive blow to the cocky bastard's face. How dare he strike out at his lieutenant like that, even if it was a sparring match. Woodward was playing dirty and taking this match too far, and Mustang was _not _happy about it.

He was almost about to go out onto the floor and end the match once and for all, when he felt someone pulling back on his arm. He looked down to find Sergeant Fuery holding him back.

"Let her handle this," his intelligent young sergeant told him. Roy sighed and decided to take Fuery's advice. It was clear Hawkeye could handle this, even if Woodward wasn't playing fair.

Riza righted herself after Woodward's blow and turned back toward him, an angry glare finally settling on her face.

"You asked for it," was all the sergeant could say, looking more unsure of himself than smug for once.

"How? By being better than you? That's hardly a reason to get violent," Riza told him as she started to slowly walk toward her opponent.

"You're not better than me," Woodward spat, clearly trying to hide his nervousness, though Riza could see through his façade. He knew he went too far, and he knew that she was going to make him pay.

"You're wrong about that, Sergeant. Dead wrong," the lieutenant told Woodward simply before she attacked, quickly sending the cocky sergeant back in surprise. Woodward began to counter but Riza wasn't going to let him off easy this time. She quickly blocked his attacks with the finesse of a master and decided to let her opponent tire himself out before she would bring him down.

As Riza predicted, Woodward did just that, as he tried to land blow after blow, but it was clear now that he was outmatched. When the sergeant cocked back to try and land a strong blow, Riza grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back so that he was unable to use his arms.

"This is for Fuery," she said menacingly before she turned him back around and sent a quick kick to Woodward's stomach, which in turn caused him to fall back on his back. Riza took advantage of this and placed a foot on the sergeant's neck so that he couldn't move from his prone position on the floor.

"I win," was all she said before she raised her foot and walked away, confident in her victory. Everyone in the room was speechless at what they had just witnessed. Even Mustang and his team were surprised that the lieutenant had won so decisively.

As Riza walked back to where her team and superior officer stood, Woodward tried to right himself, thoroughly embarrassed and angry that he had lost. He huffed indignantly as he stood and quickly left for the locker room, not wanting to acknowledge his defeat. Riza smirked at this.

She didn't say a word as she approached her very smug looking team. She merely took her guns and holsters from Havoc's hands, grabbed her uniform jacket, swung it over her shoulder, and confidently walked out of the gym.

Everyone watched her go, whispering amongst themselves about the lieutenant's victory. She didn't care that she would be the talk of the military for the next few days or that everyone knew what she was capable of now, she just relished in the fact that Fuery's ridiculous bully had been taken down a peg and would hopefully stop bothering him now.

Back in the gym, Mustang and his team were still reeling from their beloved lieutenant's victory.

"Well that was interesting," Lieutenant Havoc commented, breaking the stunned silence.

"Yeah, no kidding. I had no idea Hawkeye was that skilled in combat. I thought it was just the guns," Breda said.

"We really shouldn't be so surprised," Colonel Mustang said with a smug smirk. "The Lieutenant is clearly a highly skilled officer after all." Though he had been angry at Woodward and surprised that his lieutenant had been hiding a skill like that from him, he was immensely proud of what she was capable of. He really should've known she would have something like that hiding up her sleeve.


End file.
